A/N: Let the second chapter of the arc get started. It's time to party people!
Lots of thanks to all those that have sent in OCs thus far. I would like to thank Origm2012 for providing me a list of grunts to work with. I still need a few more grunts because each Orochi member is supposed to have a few regular guild members under his or her control, so do send some more in.
A head-sup for you guys, updates will now be once a week or twice if I write fast. Its currently sports festival at college and I will be busy helping out this month and the next, so writing time will be scarce. But, don't worry, this story will not go on hiatus anytime soon XD
OleanderBleedingHeart: Orochi's members will definitely put up a good fight, I'll guarantee you that XD. Hope you'll enjoy the battles to come.
KingKatsu: I have an ideal opponent for him to face already XD
madmissY01: Heck yea, let's get this party started. To love or to hate the villains is your choice entirely
Guest: Sorry man, I'm gonna have to decline Wolfbane because I have already made an exception regarding Vento last time. If you want him to be added, please send him via PM instead. Thanks
Sora no Kagayaku Tsubasa: Thanks a lot! The action starts this chapter
NovaChrono: Hahaha, thanks for your enthusiasm regarding the story XD
Origm2012: I'm gonna thank you for your two reviews consecutively XD. Hope Glaive was as powerful as you though he was. Things will get real good when he faces off with the master of the dark guild. And, yep, I am a HXH fan! Too bad the manga is on hiatus . The Dark Continent part was something that I had inspiration from both HXH and Magi. Kaguro and Neo are also quite closely referenced to Kakuzu and Hidan as well, though their character designs are based on two separate anime character. Kudos to you if you know they are 's story will be revealed as time goes by, so stay tuned and I hope you will enjoy the story.
W. R. Winters: Kozmotis will be featured this chapter. You can still send in an OC and I will review him/her. Its always nice to have more OCs
Credits
Muldoom – Elegant Soul
Krom Angiozon – Arclin
Balto Crux – NovaChrono
Eiko Hinami – Sora no Kagayaku Tsubasa
Sanan, Saiko, Haizen, Hiura – Death Obelisk
Disclaimer: Refer to Chapter 1
Enjoy the story!
Dark Continent
The Dark Continent, as its name suggested, was utterly pitched black as compared to Earthland. There was no sun at all, causing the lands around it to be as dark as the night sky. Strangely, in the centre of the Dark Continent, things were visible to a certain degree. Right smack there was a small violet sun, illuminating just that one region in the entire of the Dark Continent. Due to the stark contrast in visibility, the light rays from that one sun managed to reach the furthest corners of the Dark Continent, providing the barest amount of light for one to see in the dark. With that one could make out the outlines of the forests which swathed the lands as well as the toxic mist that coated it. While the vegetation and shrubbery had no issues with that, it was extremely deadly to humans and animals. As a result, a barrier had been erected at the headquarters of the guild where the violet sun shone, to prevent the death of its human residents
The building itself was quite ordinary, a simple Japanese styled castle that was complete with walls and a moat. There were several towers located throughout the area, linked together by spanning bridges and the area below them were all just empty grounds, places for the henchmen of the guild to spar. The entire place was constructed with magically reinforced bricks such that no form of magic would be able to destroy the compound so easily. The centre of the structure was a rather large tower, with bridges linked to it from all the other towers. That was the area whereby members of Orochi held their regular meetings and any other member of the guild was not allowed to step foot in there unless ordered to. Disobedience meant instant death. In all, the building quite nicely represented the name of their guild.
Black Citadel, the castle amid the darkness.
There was a brief ripping sound as a gap in the dimension was distorted, opening up to reveal Neo, Kaguro and Rin who had just returned from their journey. While Neo and Kaguro did not look fatigued at all, Rin had already fallen asleep on the way back and was currently being piggybacked by Neo. Kaguro just looked on and sighed. While Neo did not mind, Kaguro had insisted that they train her stamina. Her skills were important to them and as such Kaguro needed her to stay awake for longer periods of time. At this point Neo would just remind him that Rin was just a 12 year old after all and was still in the midst of growing, so she needed all the rest she could get. With that, the discussion would end abruptly with neither mage finding any further reason to continue.
As they passed the courtyard, they witnessed a group of grunts in the midst of a brawl. Judging from the bottles of liquor lying by the side, it was probably either a drunkard or some falling out over who should have the alcohol. Whatever the case, the three of them were so immersed in their fight that none of them noticed the two Orochi members approaching. One of them had the bad luck of stepping backwards and bumping into Rin, causing her to wince ever so slightly in her sleep. Neo's eyes instantly narrowed and Kaguro smirked, knowing what was about to happen.
An immense wave of killing intent exploded from Neo, waking the three grunts from their drunken spar. While Neo looked the same as always, the pressure around him at instantly shot up, making it difficult to breathe and the surrounding air to distort. The man who had the misfortune of offending him immediately got onto his knees and begged for mercy, his two friends joining him in the pleas as well. Kaguro just sat back, waiting for the show to begin
It was all over in a second. One moment the man was on his knees, the next all his blood began seeping out of his body. The man still continued to plead incessantly despite his words become mere gargling and bubbling as the life left his body. At the end of it, a lifeless husk of skin of bone lay still in the blood that once belonged to him, his two colleagues shirking away in fear of the same outcome. Neo then continued to walk forward, stepping over the corpse and leaving bloody footprints in his tracks.
Kaguro just continued to grin. He had faced the same rage when he first recruited Neo, though the outcome was vastly different. That sheer strength was what motivated him to recruit him even more, and he did so eventually though the town they were in paid the price for it.
Meanwhile, Neo had ascended one of the many towers located in the castle to return Rin to her room. Her room was fairly simple, having white walls with a small table and a bookshelf. To the far end was a simple bed with a hand knitted blanket that seemed rather small in size. Neo proceeded to place Rin on the bed, passing her the blanket to which she held tightly despite being sound asleep. As he turned to leave, he paused to take a look at the single photograph that stood on the bookshelf.
It was a picture of him and Rin smiling, holding up some fish that they had caught. Those were the peaceful days, Neo thought to himself as he adjusted the photograph. He really hoped life would go on as normal soon but now they had a job on hand. One so important that he had to see it through no matter what. With that in mind, he left Rin to rest and left her room. Outside, Kaguro was already waiting.
"Let's go. The others are already waiting." He said and Neo nodded his head.
They then proceeded to enter the central tower, arriving at the room where members of Orochi held their regular meetings. The room was by no means big nor fancifully decorated. It just held a round table made of stone with eight red solid chairs surrounding it. A single lamp held from the ceiling and the room itself had a bird's eye view of the entire castle and some regions of the Dark Continent. In the room, there were 4 other presences. Kaguro and Neo recognized all 4 of them and also knew that not all of them were members of Orochi.
The first member of Orochi was currently seated in one of the chairs, a bored expression on his face. By the way he was twiddling with his cup of tea; it was obvious that he had waited for long. The man's appearance was rather simple, having a tanned and muscular body that stood at 6'0. He also had a light beard which he occasionally scratched when deep in thought. His frosty blue eyes and hair went well with his dark blue jacket that covered the tight fitting black T-shirt he wore. His red military style pants were tucked into black combat boots and his black guild mark was visible on the back of his right hand; an octagon with a demonic eye in the centre. In addition, a serpent shaped in the form of a five was imprinted on the side of neck; an indication that he was a member of Orochi.
The second member of Orochi was also sitting down, gazing out of the window when he turned at the sound of footsteps entering. This member was really tall, reaching an impressive height of 7'1. He was built quite muscularly, having wavy shoulder-length dark red hair and pale red eyes. A black tattoo of stitching went across the right side of his torso, ending at his throat. He was currently wearing a black coat and under it he was dark brown combat boots, loose dark grey pants, a black collared shirt and a dark red scarf. A serpent coiled in the shape of a two was visible over his heart, similar to the one the first member had. A katana with a Red Guard and black handle lay at the side of the table next to him. Despite his age, this member's looks were good enough to make women on the streets swoon, making him the ideal representative for the guild when dealing with others.
The other two people present were currently standing behind two of the seats, afraid of seating down unless ordered to. While their faces did not show it, their eyes reflected fear and respect of the other members present in the room. The first was a female mage that had blood red hair which was up to her shoulders and red eyes which she constantly kept down. She wore a dark red dress with black anklets as shoes and was currently holding a lacrima. This mage reeked of various herbs and chemicals which was a hint as to her role in the guild.
The second mage was surprisingly young compared to the rest present in the room but he looked a decade older in comparison. Not that the mage minded, since he believed it makes him look professional and more people will take him seriously. He stood at 5'6, having fair skin with a slender businessman build. He had dark blonde hair and brown eyes, wearing a set of thick black rimmed glasses. He was dressed in a light blue business shirt, gold and red striped tie, black business pants and black business shoes.
Kaguro and Neo took their respective seats at the table and the meeting began. Not that Kaguro really cared about the numbers but having at least half the members present, and the stronger half at that, was a win in his books.
"Well, this is a surprise. I didn't expect the loner to be here. What winds blew you over, Krom?" Kaguro addressed the second member.
"Cut the chatter Kaguro. I just want to get this done and over with since half of you are all spineless brats who wouldn't turn up." Krom snorted with an arrogant grin on his face.
"What was that old man? Do you wanna go?!" the other member slammed both his fists on the table, provoked by Krom's words.
"Don't get your panties in a twist Balto," Krom mocked the younger Orochi member. "it's not that you would be able to take me. Know your place."
"Knock it off you two, "Kaguro growled slowly as the other two members turned their attention to him. "Barring our master, I am the most powerful in the castle. Unless you wish to start something, I suggest that you shut up Krom. And sit down Balto."
Both members scowled as they settled back into their seats. As much as they did not like it, Kaguro's words did hit home. All members of Orochi were recruited personally by Kaguro and whether they agreed or not to join at first, Kaguro made sure of that. By defeating all of them single handedly in combat
All the while, Neo watched with interest, whistling as he sat relaxed in his chair. From that angle, the number three was visible on his left bicep.
"Well then, let's get back to the topic at hand." Kaguro said his voice all cheery again. "Eiko, report."
"Yes, sir." The female mage, identified as Eiko responded. "Currently fluid levels are holding steady. He is responding to the treatment well but his magic levels have yet to risen. With the current amount of artifacts we hold, we still are unable to revive him."
"What needs to be done?"
"We'll probably need live sacrifices. Preferably those that have magic powers so as to speed up the recovery rate. Until then, we'll have to gather more artifacts to sustain him."
Kaguro sighed inwardly. Finding Zeref's artifacts was already a major hassle and then came the problem of extracting the magic from those artifacts. Their guilds resources were slowly being bled dry due to the immense amount of energy and materials needed for the magic extraction.
"Muldoom, what's left of our budget," Kaguro asked the bespectacled mage.
"We have a few million jenny left or so. It should be enough to make another three containment units." Muldoom said with a sneer on his face. To be honest, he was quite disappointed with the guild. He was pretty sure the amount of money he had presented upon joining would earn him a position amongst Orochi but all he got was a simple accountant post. That did not sit well with him. So much for the promises he was offered when they recruited him.
"Okay then, I guess that concludes this meeting." Krom said as he got off his seat and began walking towards the door.
"Where are you going Krom?" Neo asked.
"You heard Kaguro. We need more artifacts so I'm gonna go out and find some. Don't bother ordering me. I do things my way." Krom snorted as he left.
"As long as the end justifies the means, I have no objections." Kaguro shrugged as the tall and burly man exited the room.
"As for you Balto," Kaguro addressed the other Orochi member, "Go and find Vale. Your next mission awaits you there."
"Roger that," Balto sighed. Vale was somewhere over the rainbow again as usual and finding him was going to be hard as hell. Not that he had the option of complaining or refusing Kaguro.
"Neo, you get rest. I'll speak to you about your next mission soon."
"Ok then." Neo replied as he left the room, eager to spend some time with Rin again. Or better yet, to start tracking down his brother.
"The rest of you will return to your own duties. I'll be visiting our master." Kaguro announced. As he was leaving, he was stopped by Muldoom.
"Kaguro sir, I have some important message to relate to the master." Muldoom insisted, although his real objective was to promote himself to get a higher rank. He had never seen the master for his entire time he was here. Now was the perfect time since the opportunity presented itself.
"I'll tell him myself Muldoom," Kaguro replied, causing Muldoom to curse inwardly. He knew Kaguro was probably going to decline him but his power hunger got the better of him, making him ask a second time.
"It's very important. I have to speak to him directly. No one else but me can tell him this."
That caused Kaguro's eyes to narrow ever so slightly.
Without warning, a blade shot out from Kaguro's back and stabbed Muldoom in the knee.
"Arrrggghhh!" Muldoom exclaimed in pain as he fell to the ground holding his bleeding appendage. As he squirmed about, he suddenly felt a foot against his temple. It was pressing hard, very hard.
"Learn your place, maggot." Kaguro growled. "Who do you think you are to speak to the master? You aren't even a member of Orochi to start with, so what gives you the authority to order me? Don't make me repeat myself because the next time I do, I will be taking that limb of yours."
"Yes, I understand. I'm sorry for overstepping my boundaries." Muldoom wheezed in pain as Kaguro removed his heel from his head and left. Eiko soon followed suit, not seeming to care when she kicked his body as she passed by.
"Damn it! Damn it!" Muldoom cursed weakly as he lay in a puddle of his own blood. Too bad there was no one to hear him this time.
Main Tower, Basement
Kaguro descended the flight of stairs in the main tower which lead to the basement. As he did so, he reflected on the events that had just transpired. He had lost his cool twice within an hour and that was bugging him a lot. As the leader of Orochi, he had an image to maintain but he also had his own desires to fulfill. The way those two spoke against him, it really made him want to cut them up into bits but he had to hold back for now. Black Citadel needed all the members it could have right now, granted that Orochi did not kill off too many of the grunts for various stupid reasons. With that thought in mind, he finally reached the lowest floor.
Before him stood a circular door that reminded one of a vault. It even had a keycode and retina scanner included. While this was ironic to most that what lay behind the door was not jewels or gold, to Kaguro it was an apt protection for the person that was currently resting behind that very door.
His precious master that was worth more than anything he had ever owned in life or in death.
Kaguro instinctively knelt before the door, clearing his throat as he spoke.
"Master Moebius, I have returned."
"Ah, Kaguro. It's been a while." A raspy voice replied from behind the heavy steel door. "You have returned from your mission, I see."
"Yes, sir. We have recently recovered a page from the books of Zeref. The dark magic extracted from it has been substantial I believe?" Kaguro replied.
"Yes, I can feel its power kicking in already." The voice stated with a hint of pleasure detectable in its tone. "But I will need more of such artifacts Kaguro. I need to regain my powers more quickly."
"Of course. All preparations are already underway." Kaguro responded with utmost respect.
"Good. I have faith in you Kaguro, my most loyal aide."
"Thank you Master Moebius. I will be taking my leave now." Kaguro got up and bowed towards the door as he made a move for the shadows that lay just beyond the edge of the room.
"The four of you, come with me. We have work to do." Kaguro stated with a gleeful mug on his face as he spoke to the yawning darkness that lay in the corner of the basement. While to the naked eye, one would not be able to see anything but even without seeing, Kaguro knew that they were there.
In response to his request, four pairs of eyes opened and glowed in the dark, acknowledging his words.
Kaguro smirked as he ascended the tower's stairs once more, this time with four shadowy figures trailing behind him.
Phase II of the plan has begun.
Sand Dune City
"Remind me why we are here again," grumbled Zion as he treaded through the thick sand that covered the ground. He had sand all over and in his shoes and his pants and it was really starting to itch.
"More like why you are following us Zion," Shinji retorted. "I don't recall ever inviting you on the mission."
"We both took the same mission at the same time doofus," corrected Zion which caused Shinji to glare at him. Both mages growled as they bashed skulls against one another, unwilling to give way to the other person.
"Shut up, both of you!" snapped Kozmotis as he tried to cover his ears to drone out their bickering. Why the hell did he have to come with them? He could have handled this mission on his own all by himself.
If anyone was to sigh and complain, it would have been Hanaku. Here she was, a single girl, stuck out in the middle of a god forsaken desert with three noisy and bickering guys. Why did she have to pick that mission as well?
Not that anyone would turn it down though. The pace of life at the guild was going on very slowly that day when that mission came in. To settle an agreement between two estranged parties for half a million jewels seemed too good a dream to be true. Zion and Shinji had leapt right at it the first chance they got. Kozmotis just strolled along, insisting that he needed the money and wanted in on it. Hanaku just decided to tag along, since she had nothing to do in the guild at the moment. Everyone was so hyped about it that no one even bothered to read the small print saying to bring along thick clothing and a map.
As a result, all four mages were sweating buckets and wandering aimlessly about in the desert maze.
Hanaku wiped the sweat off her brows as she adjusted her kimono as well. She would kill to take it off right now, if not for the fact that there were three males travelling with her.
Shinji's eyes darted instantly to the moment Hanaku shifted her kimono. His eyes trailed the sweat drops that fell from her neck, to her chest and then he saw a metal halberd about to pierce his eyes.
"Don't stare." She hissed, causing to Shinji to hold his hands up and back off, a small trickle of blood dripping from his nose as he let his imagination run wild for just a moment.
Kozmotis was taking the worse of it, having dressed entirely in black. He was essentially wearing an oven over himself and what better way to cook himself alive. His cane also kept seeping deeper into the sand with each step he took, causing him to scowl in frustration.
Zion on the other hand was in his element. He enjoyed the heat, basking in the sun's radiant waves. The only problem being the sand that kept entering his clothes. With every step he took, he swore he grew a little heavier from the sand accumulating in his pants.
After tracking for close to an hour, the four mages finally reached their destination, the entrance to Sand Dune City. In front of them stood an enormous compound of ancient stone ruins, the lost relics of a civilization long forgotten. An oasis was currently situated in the middle of the compound, sporting a small forest of trees around the water pool which extended to the entrance of the compound.
"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Zion asked as he poured out the sand in his boots. He did not see any signs of life around here apart from the shrubbery.
Kozmotis just cursed under his breath, angered at the fact that they might have wasted their time travelling out here.
"NOPE YOU GUYS HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE!" boomed a voice that seemed to be coming near the water pool.
All four mages turned their attention in that direction and hastened their footsteps. When they arrived at the pool, they were greeted by the sight of five figures. The first was currently wearing a robe and hood, obscuring his face so that no one could see how he looked like. He was currently sitting on an armchair; god knows where he got it from, surrounded by four others who stood behind him. The other four were all dressed in business suits and wore black sunglasses. Their attires were all identical and the only way to differentiate them was by their hair; one green and mid-waist long, one red and spiky, one bald with a purple tattoo and one brown with a short beard.
"Excuse me, are you guys the ones who sent the request?" Hanaku asked.
"Yes we are," the hooded figure answered.
"So where are the two parties that need some conflict resolvement?" Shinji enquired. He didn't see anyone else around, except for their groups.
"Well that would be us, my boy." The hooded figure snickered.
"This is a joke isn't it?" Kozmotis snarled. He hated it when people made a fool out of him.
"On the contrary, it is not." The hooded figure responded. "We will pay you the amount, and then some if you can come to an agreement with us."
"And what would that be?" Zion asked.
"Hiura, explain." The hooded figure beckoned towards the green haired man.
"We…er…we…er…are from…errm," Hiura stammered out, causing a sweat drop to fall from the Scarlet Nova mages heads. Apparently he was not good with words or he was just overly and redundantly nervous.
"Haizen, you try." The hooded figure suggested, beckoning the bald man to speak. Haizen just opened his mouth, making some weird sound that was like a cross between a roar and a moan. This caused everyone else to face-palm in the group, including the hooded figure. He had forgotten that Haizen could not talk.
"Oh let me! Let me!" pleaded the redhead who was bouncing up and down excitedly.
"Not you Saiko. Sanan, you do it." The hooded figure dismissed Saiko and addressed the brown haired man instead.
"Yes sir." Sanan replied with confidence, a stoic look on his face. "We ask that you abandon the town of Valgore and surrender everyone living in there to us."
"What!" came the collected response of all the mages present.
"The town of Valgore is ripe with life that contains large amounts of magical power." Sanan elaborated. "We, Black Citadel, require that magic power in order to further our goals. So in exchange for your assistance, we will be willing to supply you with enough money to rebuild and relocate your guild somewhere else. In addition, we promise not to harm anyone of you."
"What the hell do you think you're talking about! People's lives aren't something that can be bought with money so easily!" Shinji shouted in anger, sick at the fact that these men made light of life.
"How do you intend to harness that magic power?" Hanaku asked, though she was already pretty sure what it involved.
"Human sacrifice." Came the simple answer that confirmed her thoughts.
"Like hell we're gonna let you do that!" Zion growled as his fists started to drip with lava. "Why not we take care of you guys right now?"
"Take care of us? Don't make us laugh. It's not like mages of caliber can take us on anyway." The hooded figure smirked.
"What was that you asshole?!" Kozmotis growled with anger, the hate in his eyes visible to all. He hated people who underestimated him, and they were about to find out what happened when he was belittled. With a battlecry, he charged straight for the hooded figure, brandishing his cane in a decapitating sweep.
"I"LL KILL YOU!" he roared as he brought his weapon down.
The hooded figure vanished instantly from his seat and reappeared behind Kozmotis, just as he was leaping through midair. Kozmotis' eyes widened in surprise as he watched him appear behind him unharmed, his body still in mid-swing.
"You have a nice cane." The figure commented as he licked the blood off the blades protruding out of his palms. The only thought that went through all the mages minds was "When did he draw them?"
"Too bad it wasn't as sharp as my blades."
With that, Kozmotis' cane shattered into a million pieces and two wounds slowly appeared across his shoulders. The minute his foot touched the ground, blood erupted from the wounds, dyeing the ground and his clothes crimson red.
"What?" came Kozmotis' dumbfounded reply as he felt his consciousness slip. He hit the floor instantly, overwhelmed by the blood loss and his vision went dark.
"Kozmotis!" yelled Zion and Shinji as they watched their fellow mage fall. While they did not get along well with him, he was still a member of Scarlet Nova.
"Well, I guess negotiations have fallen through." Kaguro remarked with a smirk as he removed the hood. "Persuade them please," he spoke to Sanan and his group. With that he vanished again, this time carrying the armchair and Kozmotis' limp body. When he reappeared, he was sitting atop of a stone ruin that was high above the forest. Next to him, Kozmotis' body lay flat on the ground.
"Damn you give him back!" demanded Shinji, only for Saiko to stick out his tongue and waggle it.
"It's called a negotiation for a reason and he's the bargaining chip." Saiko cheered as he pranced about idiotically.
"Then we'll do it by force! Magma God's Sin!" Zion commanded as he fired off a disc of black magma towards the group. As the disc neared, all four of them leapt away at the last minute and took to the forest, avoiding the attack completely.
"You're gonna have to catch us first," Sanan retorted as he and his group disappeared into the shrubbery.
"After them, we can't let them get away." Hanaku said, taking off along with Zion and Shinji. They were not gonna get away that easily.
Meanwhile, Kaguro smiled as he watched the scene unfold atop his current position.
Everything was going exactly as he planned.
Woods Clearing
The Scarlet Nova mages chased Kaguro's men through the forest. Despite all of them having only an average build, they were awfully fast. They mostly avoided all the spells thrown at them by a hair's breath, wasting little energy in their movement.
"What's wrong with these guys? They aren't trying to fight us and their speed is abnormal. Heck even Zephyr would be surprised at that." Shinji thought to himself. Something about this just did not feel right to him. It was almost as though they were being baited to go somewhere.
The truth soon came when the four men stopped in the middle of a clearing. All of them had grins on their faces and Saiko had his hand out, mocking the mages to come and get him.
'Why you little shrimp. I'll burn you!" Zion growled as he leapt out of the woods, into the clearing.
"Shit! It's a trap!" Shinji shouted as realization dawned on him, though it was a moment too late. All three mages had already stepped foot into the clearing and the moment they did so, a violet light glowed beneath their feet.
"Runes?" Hanaku wondered aloud as she recognized the violet inscriptions that were surrounding them in a square shape.
"Exactly," Sanan stated. "The law of this rune barrier is that all magic is nullified when anyone steps into this barrier. With this you're all defenseless."
"And here I was wondering if it was something worse." Zion breathed a sigh of relief, the confident grin returning to his face. "I can take all you scrawny bastards on by myself. You guys made the mistake of stepping in it with us so you can't use magic too. So clench those teeth and prepare for a beat down by me." With that he cracked his knuckles, a smirk written on his face as he prepared for a fight. With his superior build in body, Zion was pretty sure he could take them single handedly.
But that smirk very soon disappeared when he heard the next few words that came out of Sanan's mouth.
"Who said we used magic," Sanan asked innocently as all the other members in his group began to laugh menacingly. There was the ripping of flesh and clothes as each member underwent a partial transformation. Hiura sprouted two gigantic forearms from his back which had disgustingly large muscles and were taller than two of him put together. Haizen's jaw expanded slightly, two mandibles springing out from the sides as a green mist left his mouth. Saiko's left arm burst into three long and red tentacles, each complete with hooked barbs on the underside and a triangular blade at the tip. As for Sanan, he extended his arms sideways as two razor blades sprouted from his armpits all the way past his wrists.
"Well then. Let's continue the negotiations now."
With Kaguro
From atop the ruin, Kaguro had a bird's eye view of the entire scene and he was not impressed one bit at all. The mages had arrogantly stated that they would take them out and one of them even had the gull to attack him. But from the numbers Kaguro was seeing before his eyes, it seemed that they were all bark and no bite.
"2200," he noted as he gazed at Zion.
"2000," as he turned to Shinji.
"2100," he said as he finally looked at Hanaku.
The idiot that had tried to attack him only stood at 1900, lower than the other three but those numbers were including their magic powers. Strip them of those and none of them would have even half of their original value.
"Are they really mages trained by that man?" Kaguro wondered aloud. That man's numbers were at least 10 times of theirs and he was expecting his apprentices to have at least a third of what he had. Either they were utterly confident of their skill or that they were just being big air heads who did not know how wide this world was.
Guess that ants really did not know fear until they are about to get crushed by a boot.
He really hoped Sanan's team did not obliterate them completely. It would be more of a hassle to extract their magic when they were dead but then again that was another objective altogether. The real goal lay beyond them and they were just here to kill time.
"Let's see how long they can last." Kaguro smirked as he continued to observe the fight.
With the rest
"Well then, let's continue the negotiations." Sanan declared as the rest of his team sprang into action.
Haizen lifted his jaw towards the sky, spraying out copious amounts of green liquid. As the liquid rained over, it instantly corroded whatever it touched, melting it into a puddle of slush.
"Shit," cursed Zion as he and his team dodged the acidic rain. He rolled to the side and made a beeline for Haizen, intending to punch him. That was when Hiura sent a gigantic fist his way, slamming the God Slayer into the ground.
"Gah!" he coughed in pain as a trickle of blood flowed out from the side of his mouth. He felt like he had just been ran over by a truck and something somewhere was broken. He did not see Sanan descending onto him, both arm blades raised. By the time he noticed them, Hanaku was already on her way. Thrusting her twin halberds forward, she countered the strike. Still she grunted under the weight of the attack. While Sanan looked of average build, his looks were definitely deceptive. Who knew he had so much strength.
That was all the time needed for Zion to roll out from underneath them and not a moment too soon. Hanaku felt her arms give way and Sanan buried her halberds deep into the ground. Hanaku struggled to get them out, only for Sanan to kick her in the abdomen, sending her flying.
"Now that's rude!" remarked Shinji as he caught Hanaku midflight, his feet digging against the ground as he felt himself being pushed back. When he stopped, he lowered Hanaku to the ground and drew the Glock pistol located in his back pocket. He then fired controlled bursts at Haizen, intending to stop him from spewing any more acid. Unfortunately, Hiura sent one of his arms right in front of him, catching the small arms fire as though they were nothing but tiny pebbles.
"We have to get out of the barrier," Zion thought. With that he rushed for the edge of the barrier. Just as he was about to pass it, a stretch of red tentacles embedded themselves in the ground before him, causing him to stop dead in his tracks.
"When the train is moving, please stand behind the line. Thank you very much!" Saiko chirped as he blocked Zion's path. Zion growled in anger, rushing forward to tear the tentacles apart.
"Oh no that won't do sir." Saiko mocked as he sent another wave of tentacles to grab Zion. "Please remain in your seat with seatbelts fastened please."
"Dammit!" Zion roared as he tried desperately to free himself. He was useless without his magic in this scenario. Even his strength was rendered ineffective. The harder he struggled, the deeper the barbs dug into him, causing him to bleed out slowly. With a simple flick, Saiko sent Zion back into the centre of the clearing causing Zion to tumble over and over.
Meanwhile, Shinji had taken it on himself to keep Sanan busy while Hanaku went to retrieve her halberds. Drawing the combat knife along his belt, he rushed for Sanan and fired his Glock repeatedly. Sanan deflected the bullets with ease, parrying Shinji's slashes without much movement. Even so Shinji pressed on, using his body weight to try and push Sanan back. He just needed to buy enough time for Hanaku to get behind them.
Seeing the opening Hanaku immediately ran behind them, her hand outstretched as she reached for her weapons. Too bad Haizen would not have any of that. He fired a glob of acid right in Hanaku's path, cutting her off from her weapons. "Crap!" she exclaimed as she backed off, Haizen firing a trail of smaller acid bullets after her. While most of them missed their marks, the few that landed began to corrode away her kimono, causing straps of cloth to fall every now and then.
If not for the situation, Shinji would already have had a nosebleed. Too bad, he had to keep his focus with Sanan who was currently holding his ground despite him pushing with all his strength. He felt something snap at his combat knife, an indication that he wasn't going to last very much longer.
"Isn't this a negotiation?" Shinji snarled at Sanan. "You're playing dirty, using force and all."
"Oh please," Sanan retorted in a monotone voice. "Wasn't it your side that requested a usage of force? Besides, we thank you for the compliment. Playing dirty is what we do best." With that, Sanan exerted just a slight more force and with a snap, Shinji's knife broke.
"Shit!" Shinji exclaimed as he felt Sanan's blade rake across his chest. The force was so great that he was sent flying back as well. Not for long though as Hiura caught him midflight with one arm. In the other was Hanaku, who was snatched off the ground while dodging Haizen's attacks at failed to see the limb before her.
Having both of them in his arms, Hiura instantly began to squeeze. The muscles on his arms clearly visible as they began to contract, crushing the mages that were in his grasp.
"Arrrrggghhhh!" Both Hanaku and Shinji screamed in pain as they felt their bones grind and snap. Hiura now had a smirk on his face, licking his lips as he watched their faces and bodies squirm with pain. Flexing both his arms, he slammed the duo together in a pancake like smash. When he removed his arms, the two mages fell limply to the ground. Hanaku was unconscious at this point and Shinji was gasping in pain. He felt his entire body burn and he couldn't move his left hand. The Glock he held was also crushed into nothing more than scrap metal, rendering the weapon useless.
Zion was in no better shape. His body was covered in cuts where Saiko's barbs had pierced him, small pools of blood forming at his feet. His abdomen was bruised black from where Hiura's fist had collided and while not visible, he had broken two of his ribs and was straining to keep himself from crying out in pain.
All three mages lay helplessly in the center as their enemies drew nearer, sick grins and sneers on their faces as they prepared to finish them off.
Was this the end for them?
